CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) Short Interest Up 7.3% in March

CSX Co. (NASDAQ:CSX) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 25,090,000 shares, an increase of 7.3% from the March 15th total of 23,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 11,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Institutional Trading of CSX

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of CSX in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CSX during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in CSX during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 73.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CSX Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of CSX opened at $34.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.05. CSX has a 52 week low of $29.03 and a 52 week high of $40.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.04 and a 200-day moving average of $34.32.

CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. CSX had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 25.35%. CSX’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CSX will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CSX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is an increase from CSX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. CSX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CSX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Benchmark upped their price objective on CSX from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on CSX from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Susquehanna increased their price target on CSX from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Raymond James increased their price target on CSX from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on CSX from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CSX presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.28.

CSX Company Profile

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides rail-based freight transportation services. The company offers rail services; and transportation of intermodal containers and trailers, as well as other transportation services, such as rail-to-truck transfers and bulk commodity operations. It also transports chemicals, agricultural and food products, minerals, automotive, forest products, fertilizers, and metals and equipment; and coal, coke, and iron ore to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers, and industrial plants, as well as exports coal to deep-water port facilities.